Russia agrees to rejoin Ukraine grain export deal, Erdogan says

Grains to be shipped are loaded onto a ship at Port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia on August 17, 2022 [Stringer/Anadolu Agency]

Russia agreed to rejoin an UN-backed initiative to allow exports via the Black Sea, ending a stand-off that threatened to re-ignite a global food crisis, Turkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said after his phone call with the Russian Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, Reuters reports.

According to the report, grain shipments from Ukraine will resume on Wednesday, as Russia agrees on rejoining UN-backed grain export project.

President Erdogan said the Russian President told him he would like to see “the poorest countries of Africa” benefit first.

The next shipments of grain would head to Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan, countries particularly vulnerable without Ukrainian agricultural imports, the Turkish President added.

READ: Turkiye, Ukraine in talks to resume Black Sea grain deal

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